The present invention relates generally to apparatus for cleaning the exterior of a vehicle such as, an automobile, truck, van and the like and deals more particularly with a vehicle washing system having apparatus for following a vehicle surface contour at a predetermined distance without touching the surface.
Apparatus for cleaning the exterior of a vehicle is generally well known in the art and may include contact or friction types, contactless types or a combination of the two. Friction-type vehicle cleaning apparatus often use brushes, cloths, etc. as a cleaning element wherein the element is moved relative to and in contact with the vehicle surface to agitate a cleaning solution previously applied to the surface and loosen dirt or other contaminants. The contactless type of vehicle cleaning apparatus generally applies a chemical solution or detergent under high pressure to the surface of a vehicle to dislodge dirt and contaminants. Generally, in both types of systems, after a cleaning solution of some type is applied, the vehicle is moved relative to a rinsing station wherein water or a rinsing solution is pressure sprayed onto the surface of the vehicle to carry away the loosened dirt, contaminants and cleaning solution.
A problem often associated with both the contact and contactless types of vehicle cleaning apparatus is that the rinsing station structure is generally of a fixed width and height and therefore, the system design parameters are often selected to provide a compromise rinsing spray pattern that is at best only suitable for rinsing an average sized vehicle. Consequently, a smaller-than-average sized vehicle passing through a rinsing station of this type will generally have its surfaces too far from the rinsing spray source so that the rinse spray loses its surface impact pressure and the dirt and cleaning solution may not be adequately removed. In contrast, if the vehicle surface is too close to the rinsing spray source as might be the case with a larger-than-average sized vehicle, the subtended angle of the spray pattern narrows the area of surface contact in comparison to a surface that is located further from the source so that the effective rinsing surface coverage area is reduced and often results in inadequate removal of the dirt and cleaning solution from the surface.
One solution known in the art is to have a washing, rinsing or drying element arranged in some way to cooperate with a wheel that rides along the vehicle surface to maintain the element in a fixed position with respect to the surface. A vehicle washing device using a surface contacting wheel to follow the vehicle contour is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,888, issued July 27, 1965, to Rousseau. A disadvantage of the wheel type contour following devcie is that scratches or marring may occur on the surface as the wheel travels along the dirt covered surface.
Another washing mechanism, such as, exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,422, issued Oct. 13, 1970, to Alimanestiano, uses a complex gantry structure that moves relative to a stationary vehicle. The gantry in turn has a transversely mounted wash bar that is raised and lowered in response to sensor signals to follow the vehicle contour. One disadvantage associated with the washing mechanism is that it is generally not suitable for use as a cleaning station in a vehicle cleaning line because vehicles cannot serially enter and exit the mechanism in a continuous fashion without subjecting the wash bar or structure to damage.
Another problem often associated with rinsing stations is that the nozzles used for spraying the rinsing solution are generally in a relatively fixed position with respect to the vehicle surface and cannot be easily aimed to spray in a direction that adequately rinses the grill and tail light areas; consequently, additional apparatus and equipment is often required to provide adequate rinsing of these areas.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a vehicle washing system having surface contour following apparatus that generally overcomes the problems associated with the aforesaid structures used in contact and contactless types of vehicle cleaning apparatus.
It is a general object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a contactless type vehicle contour following apparatus suitable for use in a cleaning station along a vehicle cleaning line.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus for following a vehicle surface contour wherein a cleaning element is maintained at a predetermined distance relative to the vehicle surface as the vehicle moves relative to the cleaning element so as to accommodate a number of different sized and shaped vehicles whereby the cleaning fluid surface contact coverage area is optimized for the vehicle passing through the cleaning station.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicle washing system that includes a cleaning element having a redirectable directional discharge to clean grill and tail light areas.